trillion-dollar coin proposal to solve the debt ceiling issue? farfetched? but maybe the platinum proposal should not be taking people by surprise. >> so the republicans are clearly in a strong position, but the president might have a trick up his sleeve. >> is there a magic bullet to solve the crisis? try a magic coin. some economists, legal scholars and now even a congressman are suggesting a 1 trillion-dollar platinum coin could be minted and the government could use that to pay the debt, avoid default and preempt the debt ceiling crisis. >> we should have known a coin was obama's solution to everything. it was right there in his slogan. change. [ laughter ] >> bret: so clever. thanks for inviting us into your home tonight. that is it for this "special report." fair balanced and unafraid. it t. is webs so "special report" online starts in 5 seconds.

>> this is the fox report. tonight disturbing self-photographs of the movie massacre suspect. disturbing pictures they say they found on his phone. plus a crowded ferry slams into a pier. commuters tossed about by the dozens hurt. >> all of a sudden there was this loud bang and my catapulted to the seat in front of me. >> shepard: hundreds of people on board when it happened. >> hundreds stairs. >> screamed call 911. >> now an investigation into what went wrong. a flu outbreak hitting all across the country. reports of people turned away from hospitals. >> so we're seeing an early spike, at least compared to the last five or six years. this is very early and we

don't know what the peek is yet. >> shepard: before it all ends they say thousands could die. tonight how you can protect yourself. plus a wildfire blasting through the brush headed for a family's home. >> we saw tornado fire coming toward us. >> all one man could do was grab his grandchildren and jump into the freezing water. >> everything was on fire. and it was just exploding all over the place. >> tonight, the family that survived a firestorm. but first from fox this wednesday night. they were commuting to work here in new york city. hundreds of people taking a high speed ferry from new jersey to lower manhattan. a regular day until the crunch of metal cracked the morning and then the screaming began. we now know roughly 70 people are hurt. some of them quite seriously after the catamaran ferry crashed as it was docking. happened around 8:45 this morning. more than 330 people on board.

>> you know, just doing my usual morning routine sipping coffee when there was a tremendous impact. and my head just slammed into the seat in fnt of me. >> everybody was on the back of the boat. people lined up on the stairs and they were thrown forward and people who were standing in the standing areas around the bar area where they serve breakfast. those people got thrown around. a lot of them got badly hurt. >> one passenger said it was like being in a car crash and he tweeted a photo showing a broken window on board. teens checking the inside of that ferry. inspectors say they were checking for more signs of damage and outside you can see what the collision to one of the cat that rans haul's. the company that owns the ship confirms workers recently changed the propulsion system. >> i was talking to one of the employees and he was telling me that none of these guys like this boat. the captains because it has something different. it's not yet propelled or something as he said that literally the front of the boat hits.

>> shepard: that woman says she heard the captain screaming for somebody to call 911 and get some ambulances and within minutes the pier was swarming with rescue workers along with some investigators who are now demanding answers about how this disaster happened. it's fox top story and rick leventhal is on it at the scene in manhattan. they already tested the people running this ship for drugs and alcohol. >> that's right, shep. medical team collected samples shortly after the crash. we are told all of them passed the alcohol test but the drug test relies on blood samples and could take a few days to process. meanwhile the chairman says a captain is a 10 year veteran. most senior captain he was at the controls of the time of the crash and they are calling this a long and terrible day for the company. >> we are simply shocked and stunned that this happened. we know passengers rely on us for transportation and for safe transportation. and we are very sorry that

this accident occurred. >> as you mentioned, the vessel had recently been retrofitted with a new propulsion system designed to make it more efficient not necessarily faster. it isn't clear if that contributed to the wreck, shep. >> shepard: what's the word on injured passengers tonight, rick? >> police fire and e.m.s. treated and transported 57 injured here at the scene. but now the injured total has risen to 74. apparently 17 people left here, went to work, and then went to local hospitals complaining of injuries. we are also told that 11 of those injuries now considered serious. the worse was a man who suffered head trauma when he fell down stairs on impact. many others were cut by shattered glass on board, shep. >> shepard: we have seen a few of these crashes over the past decade or so. >> yeah. and the worse was back in october of 2003 when a staten island ferry hit a dock. that one killed 11 people and injured dozens more. the city paid out $80 million to settle the flood of lawsuits that followed.

information the ntsb was investigating that crash and this one as well. that's standard procedure. a go team arrived this afternoon. they are preparing to gather what they are calling perishable evidence. >> we are just here to collect information right now. we are not here to conduct analysis. we are not here to speculate. we are not here to determine the probable cause. we're here to find out what happened so that we can prevent it from happening again. >> and the ntsb says it will interview crew members tomorrow and begin collecting, gathering evidence to try and determine the cause of this crash, shep. >> shepard: rick leventhal in lower manhattan where the accident happened this morning and just hours later just across the east river, another new york city disaster unfolded when a 200-foot tall crane collapsed in queens. that crane went down neither iconic pepsi sign that you can see from manhattan. the fire department claims today's collapse trapped several workers. seven are now hurt.

three of them reported in serious condition. crane collapses. a serious concern here in new york. especially since two massive cranes fell in 2008 and killed 9 people. arthur aidala defended the suspect. >> this particular one is different than the other two. the general concept is the same and it all has to do shepard with these cranes. the maintenance, the oversight, the following, there is a three ring binder that's 6 inches thick that is supposed to be attar crane site and supposed to be followed by the letter. >> shepard: they have hired more crane inspectors and adopted more than two dozen crane safety lays. records show the crane that fell five years ago and the one that went down today are apparently all owned by the same man. we do not yet know what caused today's collapse but rest assured investigators say they will find out. if you have put off getting your flu shot now may be the time to get it done. this outbreak has now forced one city to take emergency action and elsewhere hospitals

have started turning away patients because of a lack of space. officials at the centers for disease control and prevention in atlanta report flu has killed 18 children through the end of last year. that number they say is almost certainly gone up. and the current number of flu cases already matches the peak of many previous years. this time scientists say the worst of the flu season is likely to come. the city of boston declared a public health emergency because the mayor reported some 700 confirmed flu cases in boston alone compared to just 70 during the last flu season. now, the city will offer free flu shots and health officials today urged it is not too late to protect yourself. >> there is is plenty of flu vaccine and people can get it at clinics. local boards of health. pharmacies are well-stocked with vaccine and of course your healthcare provider. >> shepard: eastern pennsylvania, teams have set up temporary flu clinic inside

these outdoor tents cut down waiting time in the emergency room. in the chicago area some hospitals went into bypass mode meaning they asked paramedics to other facilities if they could do so safely. steve brown is at a hospital in chicago. steve, is there something this year that's causing to spread? >> you bet, shep. >> last month it was responsible for a 27 full year-to-year jump in the number of confirmed cases country. the other thing about it which is very startling it is both new and powerful. >> mutated a little bit. there is a variance. our bodies are not immune to this variance. so we are seeing now increase disease, increased severity. >> bad combination. early arrival a new strain that we're not immune to.

it's just a bad combination. >> shepard: sometimes they get the vaccine right. it's very effective sometimes they don't. what happened this year? >> they did get it right. they did get correctly. >> antivirus that they put into it. the window to get that shot is closing rapidly. if you get the flu and you are hoping tamiflu that antiviral drug treatment for folks will get the flu will somehow bail you out. that's a treatment which lessens the symptoms and the duration of the flu. doesn't prevent the flu. and it's running short in some places. we have heard about shortages down in texas. so, that flu shot is looking better and better all the time. shep? >> shepard: i will say. steve brown live tonight in chicago. a new strain of a virus is quickly spreading across several countries including the united states where folks are willing to -- calling it the winter vomiting bug. there is is no cure. doctors say the virus is in no way related to influenza but they share some things in

common. >> it mutates rapidly. it changes, becomes a new strain every year. this year strain brand new strain. twice as many cases it. it sprez extremely rapidly. both the flu and norovirus spread rapidly this already made its way from england over to utah. so you can imagine how fast it's going to spread across the united states. >> this has become the dominant strain of the virus france, belgium and denmark plus japan and new zealand. the suspect accused of committing mass murder in the movie theater was back in court today and people there saw some photos he apparently took before he opened fire. pictures and how the accused gunman finally reacted when he saw them. plus the lottery winner died of cyanide poisoning after hitting it big turns out investigators had some questions questions for his wife. we will explore that with the help of the journalist of fox

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>> shepard: we expect to know as early as tomorrow whether the case of the movie theater shooting in aurora, colorado will go to trial. today the preliminary hearing wrapped up and the judge announced he will rule on that potential trial by friday morning. but today police unveiled a slew of cell phone photos that the suspect james holmes captured in the days and weeks before the shooting. the picture shows the movie theaters doors and hings including emergency exit. even the carpeting and the sidewalk outside. police also showed selfs photos that holmes took of himself before the master. this is a courtroom sketch of one picture in which he posed with a semiautomatic handgun, a smile on his face and black contact lenzs in his eyes. witnesses told our producer inside the courtroom the suspect smirked when the prosecutors displayed those photos today. the first known show of any emotion in three days of the hearing.

investigators say the gunman opened fire at a midnight showing of the latest batman movie back in july. killed 12 people and wounded dozens more. alicia acuna has been covering the court proceedings in colorado. the victims had a lot to say after this hearing. >> they did, shep. tom teefs whose son was killed says he doesn't think james holmes is crazy but very very cold and calculated. the prosecutor in the case said just as much in her closing remarks. karen pearson told the judge that holmes shot up a sold out movie theater saying, quote: he picked the perfect venue for this crime and intended to kill every person in theater 9. >> we want to call him crazy because we want to make that feel better in our society but we have to accept the fact that there are evil people in our society who enjoy killing any type of living thing. >> prosecutors say they could have charged holmes with attempting to kill every

single person in that theater because that's what they say he wanted to do shep? >> shepard: do we have any idea alicia what to expect on friday? >> if the judge decides this case will go to trial and that's what will likely happen, there will be an arraignment on friday morning. holmes defense team could ask for a continuance continuance if they want to. that could hold things off to a later day. they could address their client's competency or holmes could enter a plea. given all the actions of the defense so far. a lot of the legal analyst in the community are expecting to enter a plea by reason of insanity. shep? >> shepard: three days of presentation from the prosecution but today out of nowhere the defense said we're not calling any witnesses. what happened? defense had given indication they had planned to call witnesses and give witnesses to this preliminary hearing which would have been out of the norm in the state of colorado. after the prosecution was finished today. the defense had changed their mind. they reassessed the situation

and didn't feel this was the time or place to quote put on a show. shep? >> shepard: alicia acuna, colorado tonight. police had been chicago man just as he was about to collect 425,000ness lottery money. officials first ruled that he died of natural causes but later tests showed four hours in november and searched her home. no word whether she is a suspect. there never really is, she said her husband got sick after they ate dinner together and she cannot imagine who would want to hurt him. newly released pictures of a former fbi agent who went missing in iran many years ago but in this photo he wear as jumpsuit like the detainees at guantanamo bay. the latest on the investigation and the iranian connection. a so-called tornado of fire engulfed this family's home. the only way out through the

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>> the afghan president harmid karzai is here in the united states tonight for talks on the future of the american mission in afghanistan. if there is one. most u.s. combat forces are set to leave afghanistan by 2014. officials have been talking about leaving behind as many as 15,000 troops to work with the afghan security forces but now the white house says it also would consider leaving zero troops in afghanistan. >> today president karzai met with senators from both parties. did he not say how many forces he would like to see in afghanistan next year. he is set to meet with our president on friday. the family of a retired fbi agent who just disappeared in

iran has released pictures of him dressed like a guantanamo bay detainee. the family of robert levinson says somebody sent these pictures a couple of years ago they show him sporting a long beard. messages. one reads this is the result of serving 30 years for u.s.a. and then there is this one. i'm here in guantanamo bay. do you know where it is? >> the family says they are releasing the pictures now to get the united states to do more to find him. robert levinson vanished way back in 2007 while working as a private investigator. he was last seen on iran's kish island in the persian gulf. iran has repeatedly denied that it has anything to do with levinson's disappearance. the iranian government may very well have sent those pictures to his family. david lee miller with the rest of the story from our new york newsroom. why do they suspect the iranian government? >> well, shepard, no one has claimed responsibility for levinson's disappearance but u.s. investigators tell the

associated press based on the auto males containing those photos sent to levinson's family they believe iran is behind levinson's abduction. the sender did not leave behind a trail suggesting this was the work of professionals such as iran's intelligence service. levinson's wife says while the fbi is doing all it can a k. to find her husband she released the photos to prompt further action. >> i feel that there needs to be more pressure on iran on a daily basis. and unfortunately, it's hard to do that through the diplomatic channels. they take a long time. levinson's wife says spoken to president obama to do whatever they can it win husband's release. shepard? the iranians saying anything about. this repeatedly said nothing to do with disappearance. iranian officials even told investigators they had searched a remote mountainous region and conducted several raids turned up nothing.

u.s. officials dismissed that story as an effort to simply learn more about the inner works of u.s. counter intelligence. oldest daughter is planning to be married next month the family has not given up hope. he will be there to walk her down the aisle. i'm still hopeful he will be home in time for her wedding. he has had no human rights for the last five and a half six years. that is not right for anyone. the fbi has posted a million-dollar reward for levinson's safe return. fbi spokesman says and i quote we are doing all we can to bring bob home safe. shepard? >> shepard: david lee miller live in new york. vice president biden says president obama could take some steps to crack down on gun violence on his own. without any help from the congress. and now gun rights supporters say they are planning a show of force. a gun appreciation day to keep the president from, as they put it, gutting the second amendment. plus, the supreme court

debates whether cops can force a suspected drunk driver to take a blood test. force to take a needle in the arm without even having a warrant. and baseball writers decide whether two of the games biggest stars and accused steroid users should go to the hall of fame. the decision is in and we'll have it as we approach the bottom of the hour and the top of the news as fox reports live tonight. so, we all set? i've got two tickets to paradise! pack your bags, we'll leave tonight. uhh, it's next month, actually... eddie continues singing: to tickets to... paradiiiiiise! no four. remember? whoooa whooaa whooo! you know ronny, folks who save hundreds of dollars by switching to geico sure are happy. and how happy are they jimmy? happier than eddie money running a travel agency. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

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>> shepard: it's reparticular columbusly hot. and the extreme heat is fueling dozens of fires across southern australia. conditions today have temporarily reduced the risk. officials warn the crisis is not over. temperatures monday hit 105. the fires have destroyed more than 100 homes on the island of tasmania where one family spoke out about making a dramatic escape. >> we saw tornadoes of fire just coming across towards us. everything was on fire everywhere. all around us. >> the fire getting closer to his house, tim holmes, his wife and their five grandchildren were forced to evacuate. >> by that time children to get down to the -- because there was no other escape. the difficulty was there was so much smoke and ember. we were all just heads, water up to our chin just trying to breathe because it was just the atmosphere was so

incredibly toxic. >> waiting for the fire to subside tim holmes sent a text message to the daughter to his mother. >> lose my children and my parents. arrive which is really still quiet upsetting. it solved all of my -- five children underneath the jetty huddled up neck water. >> they clung to the jetty. eventually the family used a small boat to get to safety. the children's parents say they are thankful that everybody is okay. >> all the things that we have lost. precious memories there. but they can be replaced, material things, but my wife and children not so easy to replace. >> shepard: after they reunited county kids bonnie walker says her prayers were

answered. the family lives in tasmania not far from a town where 100 people are still not accounted for after fire swept through and destroyed their homes. so far, no official reports of any deaths. i'm shepard smith. this is the fox report. it's the bottom of the hour. time for the top of the news. the president is determined to take action to prevent deadly shootings like the massacre at sandy hook elementary in newtown, connecticut. that's the word from vice president expwro biden at meeting gun force task force the president asked him to come up with a recommendation or series of them this month. today the task force met with victims groups and gun safety organizations. tomorrow, he is set to hear from the national rifle association and wal-mart. the nation's biggest gun seller. carl cammeron on the top story at the bottom of the hour from d.c. tonight. carl, it sounds like the president is willing and considering taking matters into his own hands without the congress. >> an executive order the vice

president joe biden was not specific and didn't say how. some at the white house have suggested the president could use an executive order to create a national data base to track weapons or maybe to improve background checks. the president has already said he would like to see, among other things, a ban on military-style semiautomatic assault weapons and restrictions on high capacity ammunition magazines. biden has a deadline at the end of the month. >> there was a pretty wide consensus on three or four or five things in the gun safety area that could and should be done around this table. >> and some folks around the vice president have said they could come up with recommendations next week. met with victims and gun safety groups today. tomorrow it's sports men, gun owners and the flar. in addition pro-gown and conservative up groups has claimed january 19th before the president's inauguration gun appreciation day. they want a big show of support at gun stores, shows and shooting ranges. the up's leader today said, quote: if the american people don't fight back now, obama will do to the second amendment what he has already done to the first. gut it without a moment's

thought to our basic constitutional rights. this is likely to be a long fight. and g.o.p. congressional leaders say their priority is reducing the debt and deficit and gun debate may have to wait until spring, shep? >> shepard: sounds like a familiar slow walk there. governors are waiting to take action, too. >> yeah in new york today andrew cuomo is is eyeing presidential done in 2016 used state of the state address similar measures to the white house. he said he would ban high capacity ammunition clips for anything over 10 bullets. in connect cut, where the rampage took place in newtown governor dan maloy today got a little bit choked up the democrat. he said that the flar's proposal to put armed guards in the school is wrong. freedom is not a handgun on the hip of every teacher. new jersey republican governor chris christie is willing to discuss stricter gun laws, impact of violent entertainment and video games are also part of the problem that must be addressed, too. shep? >> police in georgia have

released a dramatic 911 call after a mother of two gunned down a man who broke into their home. elizabeth prann has this newly released audio in our atlanta newsroom tonight. elizabeth? >> yeah, shep. really an incredible story. melinda herman heard a man break into her home. that's when she called her husband at work. lives west of atlanta. intruder found them shortly after. the phone call that you are going to hear is actually husband speaking to a 911 operator while she was on another phone. keep in mind he had just taken her to a gun range and showed her how to shoot a gun. listen. >> he's in the bedroom? shhh, shhh, relax. remember, everything that i showed you. everything that i taught you, all right? she is shooting him. >> okay. shoot him again. shoot him.

oh. no. >> she came out of the attic? >> she shot him a lot. >> now, police say melinda herman shot paul slater five times even hitting him in the face. the mugshot we had was in 2008. he imagined to drive away from the scene despite being shot. he didn't get very far shep. he was bleeding and begging for help. >> i heard a lot of screaming. >> right. >> she is upset. >> no. she was shooting. >> right, right. >> i heard him pleading. he was -- he was screaming. >> now melinda and her children went to a neighbor's home shortly after the incident. all of them were unharmed. shep? >> shepard: elizabeth prann in atlanta. the supreme court is considering whether cops have to get a warrant before forcing an unwilling drunk driving suspect to submit to a

blood alcohol test. in other words, a needle in the arm whether you want it and whether they have a warrant or not. case centers and a man with just that dui after a patrolman hand you haves can draw out his blood against his will. the suspect was speeding, swerving had two previous drunken driving convictions and blood alcohol level nearly twice the legal limit. shannon bream with the rest of this story in d.c. what's at stake here, shannon? >> shep, what the justices decide could establish a national standard for how police and prosecutors handle drunk driving cases. in this case the driver did refuse a breathalyzer twice and was forced to allow his blood to be drawn but all before the officer who took him in had a chance to get a warrant. that officer testified he was worried that key evidence would be lost if the blood sample wasn't taken right away. stephan shapiro argued that's just not the case.

this is a very different situation than the situation where somebody can flush the drugs down the drain and they are gone instantly and totally. the dispation of alcohol in the blood is slow and gradual and often takes many hours. >> as you noted the driver tested nearly twice the legal limit. the evidence was thrown out because there was no warrant, shep. >> shepard: sometimes, shannon the justices give a clue or hint about how they might rule. how about this one? >> they all seemed very concerned about any chipping away at the fourth amendment's protection against any reasonable searches and seizures in any way despite the worthy goal of convicting drunk drivers and keeping them off the road. today we heard from justice society that my she said how can it be reasonable to forego the fourth amendment in a procedure as intrusive as going into someone's body there also were also a couple of justices worried about rural jurisdictions may not be image straits help get a warrant in a timely fashion.

this is a very tricky balancing test for the nine justices. we expect their opinion by june. shep? >> shepard: shannon bream in the d.c. tonight. historic day for cooperstown for just the second time in more than four decades. the baseball writers failed to elect even a single former player to the hall of fame. of course, the biggest names on the ballot all faced steroid allegations. the home run leaders barry bonds seven time cy young winner and sammy sosa. need 70% of the writers vote to make the hall. none of these guys was even close. clemens did the best but but got 37%. writers can still vote on them again as early as next year. for more on the hall of fame voting, tune in to "on the record" tonight baseball's controversial all time hits leader pete rose is set to join greta. redskins nation breathing easier tonight. the doctor who performed knee surgery on robert griffin iii

said the surgery went well. we expect a full recovery it is everybody's hope and belief that due to robert's high motivation he will be ready for the 2013 season. griffin reinjured his knee during sunday's playoff loss at seattle. well, with space shuttles long gone we have been relying on the russians to put our snawfts in space. but that may be changing. nasa dropping some big bucks to make space taxis a reality. plus, a scary scene as a man with scissors takes a little boy hostage. the whole thing caught on surveillance cameras, including the ending and that's ahead. what are you doing?

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>> shepard: a man with a pair of scissors held a man hostage and cameras captured the whole thing as cops rushed in to save the kid. you can see the convenience store kid under one arm and a pair of scissors look at that in the other hand.

the cashier says the man demanded he call police. they arrived in minutes and gave the guy's cell phone. he apparently called a friend but when he walked outside with that kid the cops wrestled him to the ground and arrested him. the boy apparently has a slight neck injury. no word whether the man and boy are are related in any way. nasa is taking a big step towards putting american space craft back in space. the agency announced today it shelled out some $1.5 billion to several private companies. those companies are developing commercial vehicles to carry astronauts to low earth orbit and to the international space station. of course nasa retired the shuttle fleet. since then american astronauts are hitched rides on russian space craft. phil keating with the rest are of this story on our florida newsroom tonight. hey, phil. >> hey, shep. we all wait for astronauts to fly up to the space station on board u.s. space craft. space x announcing today it's going to use its own test pilots to prove its capsule is safe for humans.

two cargo runs to the space station so far. two more scheduled this year. blue origin successfully tested pm 2 vehicle in october. all done still with no humans on board. but rocket science, no gimme. 8 miles high in august failed. only new aircraft that can glide back to earth shuttle style did this kerry test in colorado last year safe landing it hopes to test with humans by 2016. and the fourth company commercial company boeing dropped its space capsule with three parachutes last year to a safe landing all on target for full test flights in 2016. >> what that says is how important this program is to our country and to our industry. people want to believe think want to feel that exploration means something. no surprise space x will be the first of these commercial companies to test fly with humans to low earth orbit.

they plan to do that within three years. shep? >> shepard: phil keating live in south florida. the syrian government continues to murder its own people. today it freed more than 2,000 detainees in exchange for nearly 50 iranians. that's according to officials in turkey who helped to broke they're exchange. rebel fighters capture ited the iranians last auger in the syrian capital of damascus. they claim they were members of iran's revolutionary guards. iranian officials say they were shiite pilgrims visiting a holy site. one opposition leader accuses the syrian government of valuing iranian lives over those of its own people and of agreeing to the prisoner swap only to appease its ally which makes perfect sense. meanwhile getting a new look at brutal conditions for the thousands of syrians living in refugee camps. rebels at this camp say at least five people have died from the cold in the past few months. that they expect torrential rains and near freezing temperatures over the next few days. the united nations estimates the syrian civil war has

displaced around 2 million people inside syria and left dead some 60,000 others. some democrats say they don't need republican support for a keel to raise the nation's debt ceiling. because they claim the president has the authority to do it on his own. the white house says it disagrees. details on both sides of this coming up. plus our money could look a little funny if the president's reported nominee for treasury secretary gets the gig. the store of the illegible scroll that could grace our green backs. have you seen doctor's signatures, right? wait until you see this one. hey, our salads.

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>> shepard: the insurance giant a.i.g. the one that's airing tv ads thanking all of us taxpayers for that $182 billion we gave

it so that it didn't go into bankruptcy has decided not to sue us. just hours ago, a.i.g. declined to join a shareholder lawsuit, which claims the feds used the bailout to save wall street banks at the expense of a.i.g. shareholders. a.i.g. ceo says it would not have been, quote: acceptable socially to take the bailout and then sue the government. gee, you think? of course, plenty of folks expressed a bit of outrage at the very idea of a lawsuit. some lawmakers threatened hearings and one sent a letter to a.i.g. advising board members don't even think about it. well, president obama says he will not negotiate with congress. won't even think about it. regarding raising the nation's debt ceiling and some house democrats say he doesn't have to negotiate. because they claim the constitution does give him the power to raise the limit on his own. specifically, the 14th amendment which reads in part, look at this. the validity of the public debt of the united states shall not be quedz. of course, there is more to

this. mike emanuel is at the white house. what's the reaction from there from republicans. >> republicans say there must be spending cuts and when we're considering raising the nation's credit card limit, the debt ceiling is the time to do it. the white house says it won't negotiate. >> this is about past spending, not future spending. it is about paying our bills. and congress has that responsibility. congress needs to fulfill it. >> remember, republicans had to accept a tax increase in the last crisis. the fiscal cliff. now they want to slash spending. >> we need significant spending cuts and real tax reform to address our long-term debt problem and pave the way for long-term growth and real growth in jobs in our country. >> it's hard to see how they avoid another crisis coming down to the wire when the white house says it will negotiate but not on this deal. shep? >> shepard: now some of the states' governors saying they are not happy about another d.c. showdown. >> a governor in delaware a

democrat the governor of oklahoma republican saying they are worrying about the uncertainty the impact it will have on jobs and impact it will have on state budget. washington will come up with the bright idea of offsetting costs having the costs paid by state governments so bottom line they want to be treated like partners and not like underlings shep? >> more cabinet members have to decide whether they're staying on for the second term, right? >> that's correct. it is a fluid situation but here is the latest. labor secretary ill solis announced president obama called her a critical member of economic team. a senior white house official says three others are staying in their current post. kathleen sebelius at health and human services. aaron and eric holder at justice as attorney general. meanwhile expected the white house will name jack lew as his choice to be the next treasury secretary as early as tomorrow. sources know lew has been at the president's side for some

the big decisions over the past several years, shep? >> shepard: mike emanuel at the white house lawn tonight. here is our favorite story of the day. our paper money could soon have a bunch of scwilgs on it if jack lew get the gig. puts the united states signature on all the green backs. that's the current secretary tim geithner's john hancock. here is lu's signature. see that? from a recent white house memo. it's a bunch of scwilgs skillings. geithner had to change his signature from the one you can see here so that people could read his name on the currency. after all, if you get to sign all the money, the least you can do is read your name. by now we have all heard that soda is not good for you. it turns out it might also be

making us sad. sad soda. new research that suggests soda drinkers are more likely to be depressed. not really depressing. seems more stupid to me but you'll decide. (dog) larry,larry,larrryyy. why take exercise so seriously,when it can be fun? push-ups or sprints? what's wrong with fetch? or chase? let's do this larry! ooh, i got it, i got it! (narrator) the calorie-smart nutrition in beneful healthy weight... incles grains and real chicken, because a healthy dog is a playful dog. beneful healthy weight. find us on facebook to help put more play in your day.

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and because usaa's commitment to serve the military, veterans, and their families is without equal. begin your legacy. get an auto-insurance quote. usaa. we know what it means to serve. is the same frequent heartburn treatment as plosec otc. now with a fancy coating that gives you a burst of wildberry flavor. now why make a flavored heartburn pill? because this is america. and we don't just make things you want, we make things you didn't even know you wanted. like a spoon fork. spray cheese. and jeans made out of sweatpants. so grab yourself some new prilosec otc wildberry. [ male announcer one pill each morning. 2hours. zero heartburn. satisfaion guaranteed or your money back.

>> shepard: if you need another reason to quick chugging all that soda researchers have linked it to depression. there is a new study out and folks who consume four or more cans of soda a day are 22% to be depressed. more likely for diet soda drinkers, 31% more likely to suffer from depression. it doesn't cause depression because many folks who suffer from depression reportedly crave sweet drinks like i said. stupid. a rare 148-year-old baseball card is set for auction and it could go for serious cash. a guy says he found it in a photo album he bought at a yard sale at a small town in maine. unlike today's baseball cards this one is is an original photograph from 1865.

it shows the players and the managers of the brooklyn athletics or i should say atlantics. i should have asked o'reilly he was there. it's an amateur club. experts say it could fetch 100,000 bucks when it hits the auction block next month. before we go our team's top five things of the day. number five nielsen reports jimmy kimmel beat letterman in the ratings in his first night in the 11:35 time slot still trails leno. commuter ferry crashed in a pier in lower manhattan. one passenger suffered a severe head wound. a grand jury in texas has decided not to indict the driver of a parade float that crashed with a train and killed four military vets. number two, vice president biden meets tomorrow with the national rifle association representatives as part of a series of meetings to help curb gun violence. the city of boston has declared a health emergency over this year's vicious flu outbreak. that's "the fox rert